Asus VivoBook 13 Slate review: A detachable display PC

Asus recently launched its VivoBook 13 Slate two-in-one detachable laptop in India after introducing it globally last year. With a 13.3-inch OLED display, a slim form factor and support for Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos, the VivoBook 13 Slate aims to ‘redefine TV viewing experience’. Simply put, Asus is pitching the VivoBook 13 Slate as an alternative for TV and a PC. In reality, things are slightly different than that.

The VivoBook 13 Slate is a tablet that can also be used as a PC by attaching a stand and a detachable keyboard. In addition to this three-piece suit, you get a protective sleeve and a stylus that ships inside the box. This entire package costs Rs 57,990 if you opt for the 4GB of RAM and 128GB of storage variant and Rs 62,990 if you opt for the 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage variant. And if you don’t want any of these attachments, you can still get the tablet with 4GB of RAM and 128GB of storage space at a price of Rs 45,990.

For the purpose of this review, we will talk about the top variant of the Asus VivoBook 13 Slate that offers 8GB of RAM, 256GB of storage space and all the attachments that make this Slate a PC.

Design

Let’s talk about the design first.

The Asus VivoBook 13 Slate is a tablet-cum-PC that can morph into either one of those two devices depending on what you want it to be. In its most basic form, it’s a tablet that is trying to be more and even do more. It comes with a 13.3-inch display with a metallic body. While this screen size is slightly bigger than average tablet sizes in the market (the exception being the Galaxy S8 Ultra with a 14-inch display), it also helps it to easily transition into a PC by attaching itself to a keyboard magnetically.

On the top you get a front facing camera sans the camera shutter for privacy and at the back, there is a rear camera for clicking pictures – something you don’t find in PCs. It also has a power-button on the top part of the chassis that comes embedded with a fingerprint sensor. Together with Windows Hello, which uses the webcam or in this case the front-facing camera, and the password, this two-in-one laptop offers a total of three ways to the users for unlocking this device.

On the connectivity front, the Asus VivoBook 13 Slate has a 3.5mm jack, a microSD card reader, two USB Type-C ports on the right and volume keys on the left side. Asus has provided a speaker grille on either side of the display for a richer sound experience. However, there is no HDMI port or a USB Type-A port, which makes it closer cousin of tablets than PCs.

In usage, the Asus VivoBook 13 Slate is light for a laptop but slightly heavy for a tablet, which makes it somewhat easy to use on the go. The metallic back of the device, on the other hand, is a fingerprint magnet. It’s also difficult to clean. However, the stand helps in keeping the Slate relatively cleaner, if not pristine.

Display

Now, let’s talk about the display.

The Asus VivoBook 13 Slate comes with a 13.3-inch OLED display. It comes with a 16:9 aspect ratio and a full HD resolution of 1920×1080 pixels along with 550 nits of peak brightness and support for Dolby Vision. You also get Gorilla Glass protection on top.

Specifications aside, the display of the Asus VivoBook 13 Slate offers a decent display performance if not an exceptional one, especially at a price point of above 60 grand. The colours in images and videos are bright and vivid and the screen and there is ample amount of contrast that helps in distinguishing deep blacks and blues easily. Add to that the fact that the screen is well lit even under the sun. You can read e-books and watch movies and TV series clearly and comfortably.

I watched the latest season of The Marvelous Mrs Maisel on Prime Video and a bunch of other shows on the Asus VivoBook 13 Slate and I had a comfortable viewing experience. But I did experience some fuzziness at times. Overall, the experience was a standard one and not something exceptional.

Performance

Coming to the performance, the Asus VivoBook 13 Slate is powered by the low-end Intel Pentium Silver N6000 processor that is coupled with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of SSD storage. It runs the Windows 11 operating system. Details aside, VivoBook 13 Slate is a decent performer when it comes to light usage. It works fine with a little bit of lag when used for watching videos, surfing the internet and editing documents. However, watching videos for a prolonged period of time while charging does tend to heat up the device a little.

Coming to the sound, the VivoBook 13 Slate offers a loud and moderately clear sound. Infact, the sound is loud enough for you to watch a movie or two without missing out on anything. For music lovers, it offers a decent soundscape that leans towards the treble side of things. So, you shouldn’t expect a booming bass effect from it at all.

Moving on to the cameras, the VivoBook 13 Slate comes with a 5MP front-facing camera and a 13MP rear camera. The front-facing camera of the two-in-one detachable laptop is mediocre at best. It lacks clarity and has visible noise. The rear camera, on the other hand, manages to capture clear images but the colour reproduction isn’t as accurate.

Lastly, the stylus. Asus ships its Asus Pen 2.0 inside the box and it can be charged using a USB Type-C connector cable. The stylus is light in weight and comfortable to use. It sticks to the tablet using a magnetic holder. It has two buttons on the side. The front button can be used as an eraser while the back button can be used as a right click button. At the back, you get a USB Type-C port for charging and in the front, you get four tip options like real graded pencils, which includes 2H, H, HB and B. The overall responsiveness of the display when used in conjunction with the stylus is good and there is no visible lag at all.

Battery

Lastly, the battery. The Asus VivoBook 13 Slate comes with a 50Whr, which the company says lasts for around nine hours on a single charge. In practice, the two-in-one laptop lasts for around eight to eight-and-a-hour hours on moderate usage and it charges completely in around 1.5 hours.

Should you buy it or not?

Now, the most important question of this conversation: should you buy the Asus VivoBook 13 Slate two-in-one laptop or not?

Well, the answer to this question isn’t as straightforward as it seems as the TV-cum-laptop offers a mixed bag of performance. The display is bright and crisp yet you experience fuzziness at times. The rear camera is good enough but the front camera captures images full of noise. It has a low-end processor that is good for light usage but not for heavy lifting. The Asus Pen 2.0 stylus, on the other hand, is a winner. Overall, the Asus VivoBook 13 Slate is a decent performer.

If you are planning to use it as a secondary device, it won’t disappoint. However, at a price point of over 60K, you want a tablet to be used as more than just another screen, which is where the Asus VivoBook 13 Slate has some work to do yet.

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